Washington mediates between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda
Last Friday, the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, and the Rwandan Foreign Minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, signed a Declaration of Principles, which is intended to pave the way for the drafting of a peace treaty for eastern Congo. Rwanda and the DRC intend to present a draft for such a treaty by this Friday. A further meeting at foreign minister level in Washington is to follow in mid-May in order to clarify any differences and then officially adopt a joint peace treaty. The signing of the Declaration of Principles took place in Washington in the presence of Marco Rubio, the United States Secretary of State. At a multilateral follow-up meeting on Wednesday in Qatar’s capital Doha, the declaration was also approved by representatives of the M23 rebels.
In addition to the drafting of a peace treaty, the Declaration of Principles also deals with the recognition of state sovereignty and the existing national borders of both states. From now on, conflicts should be resolved diplomatically and neither state should interfere in the internal affairs of the other. Support for non-state armed groups has also been rejected. The return of internally displaced persons and refugees is to take place with the help of the United Nations when peace is restored. In addition, both sides reaffirm their support for the United Nations Mission for Stabilisation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and for regional monitoring mechanisms to implement the agreement. In economic terms, the aim is to create framework conditions that promote trade and investment, along the lines of existing intergovernmental and regional organisations such as the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC). With the support of the US government and American private investors, projects and investments in areas such as hydropower, nature conservation and, in particular, supply and value chains for minerals are to be promoted.
The USA is therefore not only playing a central role in mediating peace, but is also acting as an investor with economic interests. In return for military and security support for the DRC, the United States gains access to Congolese raw materials such as cobalt and coltan, which are important for the production of electric cars, batteries and smartphones. Rwanda is also set to benefit from the investments as part of the economic integration of the two countries. With this approach, the USA intends to strengthen its position in the African minerals sector, in which China has previously held a dominant position, and is also pursuing its new foreign policy: security guarantees in exchange for economic influence.
This policy is being criticised from various sides. At a meeting last Monday between Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot and the Congolese government in Kinshasa, Belgium expressed concerns as the long-term impact on regional stability was still unclear. Despite the ceasefire that was agreed between the DRC and the M23 rebels in Doha, who are allegedly supported by Rwanda, last Wednesday, the clashes in South Kivu continued. Belgium therefore called for local conflicts to be resolved first instead of focussing on transactional diplomacy. Belgium also expressed solidarity with the Congolese government and criticised Rwanda, which was seen as the aggressor. It advocates further sanctions against Rwanda and calls for the DRC to be brought more into the focus of international organisations. However, the deal is also criticised in some quarters within the DRC. According to local observers, there is a lack of guarantees that the raw materials will also be processed in the country – a crucial condition for sustainable economic development and peace on the ground. There also needs to be greater involvement of local actors in order to address the complex historical, political and ethnic background to the decades-long conflict. In this respect, the current declaration could only be the beginning of a longer-lasting peace process.
South Africa’s president receives Ukrainian counterpart
As part of his first official visit and the first ever visit by a Ukrainian head of state to South Africa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky met with President Cyril Ramaphosa for bilateral talks in Pretoria at the end of last week. A more comprehensive programme was originally planned, but this was cut short due to a deadly missile attack on Kiev the night before the visit, which is why Selenskyj left immediately after the meeting on Thursday. A central element of the visit was a joint press conference between the two heads of state. Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised South Africa’s willingness to participate in mediation initiatives in the Ukraine war together with international partners. In particular, he supported Selensky’s call for an unconditional ceasefire as the basis for further negotiations with Russia for the first time.
According to Ramaphosa himself, he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in the run-up to the visit. Possible approaches for a peaceful solution to the conflict and humanitarian issues were discussed. In addition to the meeting between the two heads of state, the current visit also served to strengthen bilateral relations between Kiev and Pretoria. Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Vitalii Koval met with his South African counterpart John Steenhuisen and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Mpho Franklyn Parks Tau to discuss the dismantling of trade barriers between the two countries. They agreed on concrete steps to open up each other’s markets for agricultural products as quickly as possible. In addition, Ukraine is seeking South African expertise in the livestock sector in view of South Africa’s global market power in the area of beef production. Against this backdrop, Zelensky’s visit is also seen as an effort by Kiev to expand its partnerships in the Global South. Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has significantly expanded its diplomatic presence on the African continent and increased the number of its embassies from ten to twenty.
In South Africa itself, Zelensky’s visit was met with mixed reactions. While government representatives supported the exchange, the opposition MK Party criticised it, pointing to the country’s close relationship with Russia. The party rejected President Ramaphosa’s invitation to the Ukrainian president and accused Zelenskyi of provoking the war. The South African government, on the other hand, has repeatedly emphasised its neutrality in the past. Ramaphosa had already visited both Kiev and Moscow in June 2023 as part of an African peace mission together with representatives from six other African states (Press Review CW25/2023). Nevertheless, many observers saw South Africa’s stance in the conflict as ambivalent. The country has traditionally maintained close relations with Russia, which have existed since the Soviet Union supported the anti-apartheid struggle and are reflected today at the political, economic and security policy level. As a founding member of the BRICS group of states alongside Brazil, China, India and Russia, the two countries also work together on foreign policy. South Africa has abstained from voting on various United Nations resolutions on the Russian invasion in recent years. In particular, the naval manoeuvre ‘Operation Mosi II’, in which South Africa participated together with Russia and China off its own coast in February 2023, caused a stir among European partners.
According to some analyses, Zelensky’s visit is now seen as a further change in South Africa’s tone on the Russian war of aggression, after the country supported a UN resolution on Ukraine’s territorial integrity for the first time in February 2025. South Africa’s and Ukraine’s strained relations with the United States under President Donald Trump could also play a role in the rapprochement between the two states, both of which are facing pressure from Washington in different ways. Whether South Africa will take a more active role in possible future negotiations between Russia and Ukraine remains to be seen. The government points to its own experience in mediating international conflicts. At the same time, observers emphasise the country’s limited ability to influence foreign policy in the current geopolitical environment.
In Other News
Last Friday, the National Museum of Libya in Tripoli was officially reopened – for the first time since its closure in 2011. The museum, also known as the Red Castle Museum, is located in the al-Saraya al-Hamra fortress in the historic centre of the city and is one of the most important cultural institutions in North Africa. Since its foundation in 1919, it has told the story of 5,000 years of Libyan history – from the prehistoric period to independence in 1953 – and exhibits artefacts from the Phoenician, Punic, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman eras. The cultural traditions of the ethnic groups and unique rock carvings from the Akakus Mountains region are also on display. The exhibition is complemented by a natural history section with fossils from various eras. The museum was closed during the civil war in 2011 after exhibits relating to Muammar al-Gaddafi in particular were damaged. However, the most valuable objects were saved by the staff in time. After the modernisation of the museum had been interrupted for years due to the unstable security situation, the renovation work picked up speed from 2022 and has now been completed.